On April 18, 2003, an historic event in space travel was marked by the unveiling of the first private manned spacecraft and launch platform (called SpaceShipOne and White Knight, respectively). Already constructed and in the test flight stage of its development, the project was hidden from the public in order to reveal a finished product rather than just schematics. The news article describes the...

Released on July 23, 2003, this report details the causes of the failure of NASA's X-43A flight vehicle. The mishap occurred in June 2001 and was immediately followed by the organization of an investigation board, which is the source of this document. An overview of the Hyper-X Program and X-43A mission are presented, describing the components and configuration of the vehicle. The report then...

This Topic in Depth begins with a Web site maintained by Dr. Richard B. Gomez of George Mason University called Space Debris (1). The site is offered as a slide presentation, which explains what space debris is, where it comes from, if it's dangerous, what is known about it, and what can be done about it. The very interesting site is perfect for non-experts because of its simple descriptions and...

In a May 2003 online feature of Popular Science magazine, several potential candidates for replacing NASA's aging space shuttles are examined. Although budget problems have made the outlook somewhat bleak for any new designs in the near future, a number of existing proposals are outlined. An especially eye-catching concept is an enormous flying wing, which would climb to 40,000 feet and serve as a...

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center is the location of an ongoing initiative to make access to space easier and more affordable. The center conducts extensive space propulsion research; four focus areas include advanced chemical propulsion, plasma propulsion, high-powered electrical propulsion, and propellantless propulsion. There is also a lot of information about the Integrated Space...

Humans have been traveling around through space for a number of decades now, but this week a new landmark was reached that hints at the possibility that more people may be able to have similar experiences in the near future. On Monday, the privately funded spacecraft SpaceShipOne climbed to a height of 377,591 feet (or 71.5 miles), thereby winning the $10 million Ansari X Prize. The award is...

This MSNBC website presents the most significant space science news of 2004. After brief synopses of the major occurrences, the website features stories on the Marvels at Mars, SpaceShipOne's Rise, and NASA's Double Vision. Visitors can view several of the best images from 2004 and vote for their favorite. Users can also vote for their top 2004 space story and 2005's top trend. The website offers...